Lug strap support for looms



23, 1952 Q, DOD E 2,622,629

LUG STRIKE SUPPORT FOR LOOMS Filed March 26. 1951 IIIII IIE: :"J

2 g 2a as INV OR.

' SHERWOOD 0. GE

BY g,W,

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 23, 1952 LUG STRA? SUPPORT FQR LOOMS Sherwood 0. Dodge, Medford, Mass, assignor to H. F. Livermore Corporation, Allston, Mass, a

corporation of Delaware Application March 26, 1951, Serial No. 217,567

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in picking mechanism for looms and more particularly to means for attaching a lug strap to a pickerstick.

In conventional looms, the pickerstick, as is well known, has regularly been made of wood. Among the recognized disadvantages of using this material is the rapid wear to which such stick is subjected by the means employed to connect the same with the sweep arm and thus with the actuating mechanism. The rapidity and sudden character of the motion which is required to be imparted to the pickerstick and the resultant continual chafing of the engaged parts of the lug strap support on the stick by the lug strap tends to wear these parts quite rapidly at the point of connection of the lug strap therewith. This difficulty in turn leads to repeated breakdown caused by wear and breakage of the lug strap hanger on the stick. Additionally, as the lug strap support Wears, the lug strap changes position along the pickerstick, thereby changing the starting position and consequently the relative force of the pickerstick movement.

In order to overcome these and other diificulties a leading object of the present invention is to devise a simple lug strap support capable of fitting and holding any size lug strap in its proper position in the length of any pickerstick, and at the same time permit such position to be easily varied up or down the stick.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character which will substantially prevent any abrading or wearing action on the pickerstick or the lug strap at the point of attachment thereto.

A further object of the invention is to provide an attachment of this character which will be a complete and unitary all-metal structure which will not require drilling or weakening the pickerstick, or require the insertion of screws or other like fasteners in such stick tending to weaken it at the'point of maximum strain.

To these ends the present invention comprises the combination or"- parts hereinafter described and covered in the appended claims an illustrative embodiment of which is set forth in the acoompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a portion of a pickerstick showing the novel supporting device applied thereto and holding the lug strap in working relation, the lug strap being shown in section.

Fig. 2' is a plan View of the parts shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the left-hand side of the supporting member for the lug strap shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is an elevation, from the left-hand side, of the supporting device with the lug strap and the part shown in Fig. 3 removed.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 the pickerstick I is embraced by a rigid metallic yoke 3 having threaded integral ends 5- and 1 extending through slots Al in a clamping plate 9 adapted for disposition across the back of the pickerstick above the working position of the lug strap t3, the arts being secured by nuts 8 and it. This latter strap is of conventional type, and is looped about the pickerstick at the usual distance above the axis of oscillation, and has within its loop or bend the usual cushion bumper i2 secured by a rivet it having its end riveted over washer ii.

For the purpose of supporting the lug strap It at the proper height on the pickerstick a T- shaped member 2|, formed with cavities 9 for lightness and out back at 28 to receive the width of the stick, is clamped against the back of the pickerstick by clamping plate 9 with the concave side toward the stick, this member having a salient upper rim 22 which embeds itself a slight distance in the stick as nuts 8, It! are tightened, and having also arms 23 and 25 which extend horizontally beneath the lower edge of the lug strap and are convex on top to form rounded ridges at 29 serving in the manner of rockers to provide relative rocking contact with the under side of the lug strap during swings of the pickerstick. The back or flat outer face of such T- shaped member is provided with a pair of teeth 3| and 33, Fig. 3, which fit in a selected pair of a series of notches All in the opposing front face of member 9, these pre-formed interengaging elements fixing the spaced relation between the feet and arms. When nuts 8 and it are tightened the yoke 3 clamps the members 9 and 2! firmly together and to the stick at the desired height thereon, the arms 23, 25, contacting the respective sides of the lug strap and thus supporting it at the desired workin level. To prevent the lug strap from rising in the course of the violent movements it performs, especially at the ends of its inward stroke, member 5 is equipped with a pair of feet H bevelled at the lower edges to provide relative rocking contact with the lug strap.

To adjust the vertical distance between arms 23, 25, and feet I! on members 2! and 9 respectively, to accommodate lug straps of different vertical widths, either member 9 or 2% is slidably adjusted up or down relative to the other member to engage the teeth 3| and 33 of member 2| at the desired levels in the series of notches 4|, nuts 8, being loosened. By retightening the nuts the members again become locked tightly together and to the stick without drilling holes in the stick or weakening it in any manner. The feet II are spaced from arms 23, 25, by an amount sufficiently grea cr than the actual vertical width of the lug strap to prevent binding of the strap between these opposed members when the strap assumes its oblique relation to the axis of the stick in the extremes of the pickersticks movement.

Thus, the present invention provides a simple and enduring means for supporting a lug strap, and at the same time shielding the pickerstick from Wear, while the several related parts are readily removable for the purpose of replacing the stick as well as being freely shiftable for making an adjustment, though all the parts are securely held in operative position indefinitely and under the most severe usage.

It is contemplated in certain instances to employ the device of the invention in inverted relation, that is, with the yoke 3 and member 9 beneath the lug strap and the member 2i extending up through the lug strap loop. In this relation, the feet H of member 9 support the lug strap by engagement of the convex ridges of the feet with the straps under side, while the arms 23,25, or T-shaped part 2| engage the upper surface of the lug strap upon occasion to prevent the latter from riding up on the stick, the device performing equally well in this position.

While I have illustrated and described a certain form in which the invention may be embodied, I am aware that many modifications may be made therein by any person killed in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the particular form shown, or to the details of construction thereof, but what I claim is:

1. In combination with a loom pickerstick, a yoke surrounding the pickerstick and having integral end portions extending beyond the pickerstick on one side thereof, a clamping plate provided with slots through which the end portions of the yoke extend and having feet to engage the upper portion of a lugistrap, a lug strap looped around the pickerstick, a member engagingone side of :the pickerstick provided with arms supporting the lower portion of the lug strap and having teeth in adjustable engagement with the clamping platefixing the spaced reiation between the feetand the a ms, and means for tightening the yokemember and piate to the pickerstick.

2 In combination with a loom pickerstick, a yoke having integral end portions extending beyond the pickerstick on one side thereof, a lug strap looped around the pickerstick, a clamping plate having slots through which the end portions of the yoke extend and having a pair of feet positioned adjacent the upper face of the lug strap, a member engaging one side of the pickerstick provided with arms supporting the lower portion of the lug strap, th plate and member having pre-formed interengaging elements fixing the spaced relation between the feet and arms to fit lug straps of different vertical widths.

3. In combination with a loom pickerstick, a yoke having threaded end portions projecting beyond the pickerstick on one side thereof, a lug strap looped around the pickerstick, a member engaging one side of th pickerstick provided with arms supporting the lower face of the lug strap, a clampin plate having slots through which the end portions of the yoke extend, and having a pair of feet positioned adjacent the upper face of the lug strap, such plate and member having teeth coacting to fix the feet and arms at difierent distances to fit lug straps of different widths, and means removably attached to the threaded end portions holding the yoke, member and plate to the pickerstick.

4. A lug strap support comprising the combination with a pickerstick and a lug strap looped around the pickerstick, of a yoke surrounding the pickerstick, a member provided with arms embracing the sides of the pickerstick and supporting the lower portion of the lug strap and mounted on one side of the pickerstick, a clamping plate through which the yoke extends having a pair of feet preventing the upward movement of the pickerstick, such plate adjustably attached to the member, the plate and member having teeth coacting to fix the spaced relation of the feet and arms with capacity for varying the relative distance therebetween to support lug straps of different vertical widths.

5. A lug strap support comprisingthe combination with a pickerstick and a lug strap looped around the pickerstick, of a yoke surrounding the pickerstick, having threaded ends, a member I provided with arms in rocking contact with the lower portion of the lug strap and engaging .one side of the pickerstick with the arms embracing the two adjacent sides thereof, a clamping plate through which the yoke extends having a pairof feet to confine the upward movement of the pickerstick, such plate being adjustably attached to themember with capacity for varying thedistanee between the feet and arms of such memher, and means attached to the threaded end portions of the yoke .tightening the yoke, memher and plate to thepickerstick.

6. A lug strap support comprising the combination with a pickerstick, and a lug strap looped around the pickerstick, of a yoke surrounding three sides of the pickerstick having integral end portions extending beyond the pickerstick'on the open side of the yoke, a member engaging the pickerstick between the end portions and having a salient portion imbedded in the pickerstick and having a pair of arms embracing the lateral faces of the pickerstick and supporting the lower portions of the lug strap, a clamping plate having siots through which the-end portions of the yoke extend and having a pair of feet tocontact the upper face of the lug strap, such plate coacting with the supporting member to hold'the lug strap therebetween, and means removably attached to the end portions holding the yoke, member and plate to the pickerstick.

SHERWOOD- O. DODGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Sal-84 Lambert Mar. 6, 1900 966,68"! Dismuke et al. Aug. 9, v 1910 1,248,268 Taylor Sept. 18, 1917 1,337,055 Durand Apr. 13, 1920 1,382,581 Welsh June 21, 1921 11520343 Smith Nov. 6, 1928 2,083,443 Gray June 8, 1937 2,100,820 Shealy Nov. 30, 1937 

